Selestino named 2023 Officer of the Year

PROSPERITY — Prosperity police officer Corporal Stephen Selestino was recently named the Prosperity Police Department Officer of the Year for 2023. Selestino displayed courage and bravery when he disregarded his own safety for the safety of others when he approached and arrested a murder suspect behind a dark residence. That suspect had just stabbed and killed a person in the Town of Prosperity.

On May 31, 2023 around 8:35 p.m., a call came into the Newberry County Communication Center about two individuals in an altercation with one of the subjects being armed with a knife. Before law enforcement arrived, a 31-year-old was stabbed and found unresponsive in a front yard on Langford Street in Prosperity. Selestino arrived within two minutes with a sheriff deputy shortly afterwards and provided medical attention to the victim of the stabbing. While a deputy was securing the scene, Selestino heard a car door slam from the rear of the residence where he tactically approached a bloody suspect, preparing to leave the scene. Selestino detained the suspect who was later charged with murder. The victim died at the scene. Selestino and deputies with the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office were commended for their quick response and arrest, which helped ease the concerns of the community and provided some answers to the victim’s family.

Selestino, a native of Texas, is a graduate of Lockhart High School (Texas) and the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. Selestino currently resides in Newberry County.

Selestino also has excelled in areas including traffic enforcement and is the contact person for assistance on accident investigations.

Besides Selestino’s duties as a patrolman, he is also the department training officer and a certified driver’s instructor. He is in-charge of ensuring officers maintain their law enforcement certification with the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. He is responsible for assessing officers’ training and to make appropriate recommendations that meet the department and the state requirement.

His role as the training officer is critical to the department and to the officers’ career development. Selestino was also assigned a special project in which he assisted the department to obtain funds from traffic cases that were put on hold during COVID-19.

Selestino is bilingual, and is fluent in Spanish and English. He is called on many occasions to assist with translating critical information from Spanish speaking victims. He also assisted officers with situations that are vital to the criminal justice system on the local and state level.

In Selestino’s spare time, he wrote a book, The Savior Beyond the Storms.